Breeders’ Cup betting handle: Charting the rise and fall since 1984

The Breeders’ Cup is one of the biggest annual betting days in horse racing, and that’s been the case since its inaugural running in 1984.

The Breeders’ Cup is everything a horse racing bettor could want: championship-caliber races with rich purses and large fields pitting top-notch racehorses from around the world in battles for supremacy across a variety of surfaces and distances. Older autumn stakes races of importance have become preps for the Breeders' Cup, which often determines year-end champions.

Betting on the Breeders’ Cup has increased sharply over the past 40 years, at least in terms of raw dollars. But how much of the increase has been driven by inflation?

The numbers paint a vivid picture. From the first Breeders’ Cup in 1984 to the 40th in 2023, betting increased by 805.1% (from $19,476,050 to $176,281,989) in raw dollars and by 208.6% (from $57,116,375 to $176,281,989) when adjusted for inflation to 2023 dollars. But in recent years, the growth of the adjusted betting handle has ceased and even fallen from its peak.

Rapid early growth

The first Breeders’ Cup featured seven rich races at Hollywood Park in California: the Classic, the Distaff, the Turf, the Mile, the Sprint, the Juvenile, and the Juvenile Fillies. An on-track crowd of 64,254 wagered $11,466,941 across the whole card, while simulcast bettors poured in another $8,009,109 for a grand total of $19,476,050. Converted to 2023 dollars, that’s $57,116,375.

It was a bright start, yet it remains the smallest amount ever bet on the Breeders’ Cup. The handle jumped 40.6% to an adjusted total of $80,282,308 in 1985 and either grew or remained roughly flat every year through the first decade, peaking at an unadjusted total of $82,608,549 ($174,193,703 adjusted) in 1993, the year Arcangues famously won the Breeders' Cup Classic at odds of 133-1.

The 1993 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita proved to be a high-water mark, at least for a while. Just two years later, the unadjusted betting handle plunged to $65,768,486 ($131,494,680 adjusted). Betting recovered by 1998, when a then-record crowd of 80,452 at Churchill Downs bet a record number of unadjusted dollars ($91,338,477) on the Breeders’ Cup, but the adjusted number ($170,742,433) was still below the peak from 1993.

Breeders’ Cup expansion restores growth

In 1999, the Breeders’ Cup expanded to eight championship races with the addition of the Filly & Mare Turf. The extra race fueled an era of growth: The unadjusted betting dollars topped $100,336,230 for the 1999 renewal at Gulfstream Park, while the adjusted number reached a record $183,509,303, a 7.4% increase from the previous year.

While the unadjusted betting handle climbed more or less steadily through the first half of the 2000s, the adjusted numbers floated up and down, coming in between $192,169,348 and $199,764,348 in five of the next six years. It wasn’t until the Breeders’ Cup returned to Churchill Downs in 2006, after a six-year hiatus, that the adjusted number jumped meaningfully to $212,100,701, a 9.7% increase from the previous year.

Shift to two days drives additional increases

The Breeders’ Cup expanded from a one-day event into a two-day extravaganza in 2007. The existing Saturday card was joined by a Friday card featuring three new races: the Dirt Mile, the Juvenile Turf, and the Filly & Mare Sprint.

The first two-day Breeders’ Cup took place over a rain-soaked track at Monmouth Park, and the bad weather likely contributed to a dip in betting dollars. But when dry weather reigned supreme at Santa Anita in 2008, the unadjusted betting handle climbed 20.5% to $155,740,328, while the adjusted dollars jumped 16.1% to a record $220,407.470. Another sunny Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in 2009 yielded similar numbers, with the adjusted handle dropping only 1.2% to $217,687,550.

Churchill Downs sets still-standing adjusted handle record

Churchill Downs hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 2010, and horseplayers embraced the two-day event with their betting dollars in a way that hasn’t been seen since. The unadjusted betting handle soared to $173,857,697, a 13.4% increase from 2009, while the adjusted handle climbed 11.6% to $242,941,208. When factoring inflation, this remains the largest amount ever wagered at the Breeders’ Cup.

Diminishing numbers since the 2010s

The Breeders’ Cup program continued to change through the 2010s. A short-lived Juvenile Sprint was contested in 2011 and 2012, but the adjusted betting dollars nevertheless dropped by 9.9% to $218,785,064 in 2011 and by 12.5% to $191,468,715 in 2012. The following year, the Marathon was removed from the Breeders’ Cup slate, leaving the series with 13 races until the introduction of the Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2018. 

From 2012 through 2022, Breeders’ Cup betting told two different stories. The unadjusted handle slowly recovered and reached a record $189,060,373 in 2022. But adjusted for inflation, Breeders’ Cup betting only held steady, with every year falling within the range of $191,050,280 (2018) and $210,198,008 (2013).

The 2023 Breeders’ Cup saw a decrease in betting. The unadjusted handle dropped 6.8% from 2022 to $176,281,989, while the decrease in adjusted dollars was even larger: 10.4%, to $176,281,989, the lowest adjusted total since 1998, when the Breeders’ Cup had half as many races. It was also down 27.4% from the 2010 peak.

Nevertheless, the future looks bright

Despite the decrease in betting last year, there’s much to look forward to as the Breeders’ Cup enters its fifth decade. The Breeders’ Cup has weathered betting drops in the past, and there are encouraging signs for a rebound. The 2024 Breeders’ Cup drew a record 80 international pre-entries, up from 60 the year before. As the popularity of the Breeders’ Cup grows around the world, there are opportunities for the betting handle to grow.

A lot has transpired during the last 40 years. There have been wars, a Great Recession, and a pandemic. Even still, the Breeders’ Cup betting handle has increased 208.6% when adjusted for inflation, proving the popularity and resilience of the event.